College Life: 21st Generation

You probably know that you have to work toward a degree or post-college through the Internet. Maybe you attended online classes to continue their education, certification, or to improve the chances of promotion at work.

More and more people are discovering that they can get your degree from an accredited online university that offers a challenge and quality of a traditional classroom in an environment that allows them to adjust education to a life that may be too busy to conventional methods teaching.

According to recent government study, about 127,400 of the distance education courses are offered in 2001'02, and there are about 3.1 million enrollments in distance education. More than half of all higher education institutions offering distance education and another 12 percent planned to offer distance education in the next three years.

Distance education is defined as education or training courses at a distance (off campus) sites via audio, video or computer science. Golf only on campus, and classes conducted exclusively via written correspondence, is not included in the definition of the distance.

It is increasingly clear that technology has expanded the ability of students to participate in postsecondary education. Almost all types of students can benefit from some form of online education. Besides the rapid proliferation of new courses and programs, colleges and universities are leveraging the Internet to improve the admissions process and give potential students the opportunity to apply online.

Online education allows you to learn not to cause a big change in your life. You can access the class online using any Internet connection, anytime, virtually anywhere. In this round the clock access allows you to download assignments, read and participate in class discussion, faculty feedback, review and more, all at convenient times for the professional and personal schedule. Many students find this flexibility, not to sacrifice quality, helps to keep them on track toward your goals more easily than the rigid programming environment of a traditional studio.

There is also evidence that some of the students participating in higher education in your home or workplace is not otherwise enroll in postsecondary education. So it seems that technology is opening new markets for potential students, without significantly reducing the number of students who enroll in traditional schools and universities, many of them also offer technology-mediated distance education.

Distance learning is also happy with their experience of online learning in general. A large-scale national study of pupil participation in distance education addressed student satisfaction of distance education classes and, when asked how satisfied they are with their distance education classes in relation to their regular class Most undergraduate and graduate are at least as satisfied or more satisfied with the quality of teaching in distance education classes compared to their regular classes.

Maybe it's time to focus on more fundamental question of how students learn, regardless of the delivery system. Through distance learning technology is changing so rapidly that it is difficult for experts to establish educational standards that meet the current situation and future possibilities of the online learning experience.

Because experimental studies comparing distance education courses based on campus courses are based on the premise that campus-based course in pattern "of gold that may be questionable, you can leave the study is advisable. Addressing emerged about how students learn and focuses on the evaluation results will be more productive.

Many organizations in developing standards and guidelines to ensure the quality of distance education, including the Southern Regional Electronic Campus, the National Education Association and the Western Cooperative Educational Telecommunications. These guidelines cover areas such as course development, evaluation and assessment, support faculty, and institutional support. Among the benchmarks, interactivity'between students and teachers, students and alumni and students information'is the most important element for the effectiveness of distance education.

Clearly, online learning and distance education is here to stay. The benefits are compelling, especially those who managed to complete their education or adding a much needed certification to their credentials through an online educational experience.